Yuletide 2024 Letter
Oct. 11th, 2024 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
22degreehaloEdit: Sorry, offerer: my letter is complete now!! Apologies if I stressed you out a touch. :') I'm interstate for my brother's wedding (it went off without a hitch!!)(pun unintended...?) and it has just been. busy :'D
Hey, folks!! Despite being a Fandom Old from ye olde days of Livejournal, this year for the first time ever I will be participating in Yuletide, and so that calls for a letter! :)
First up, I've signed up for a few of the mini challenges: the Family Matter incest challenge, Interactive Fiction for Yuletide, TransTide, and Three Turtle Doves! I also welcome any and all treats, including of other formats such as artwork!
Beneath the first cut I'll put some general insights as to what I like and dislike! Everything is optional, of course, so don't stress too much - I just personally work better when I have a whole smorgasbord of ideas to potentially focus in on, so I like to give the same options for those who want them!
General likes:
* Angst, hurt/comfort, and complications
* Period- or canon-typical homophobia, internalised or otherwise
* Fic that really focuses on what makes the characters/relationship unique or unusual
* Strong emotionally intense relationships that don’t easily fit into standard relationship categories (including ambiguous relationships, pre-slash, open relationships, poly, and loyalty kink!)
* Worldbuilding, and unique or setting-specific relationship structures
* Unusual formats/styles, and/or mimicking canon styles (CYOAs, IF, comics, meta, long-form poetry, and more all welcome!)
* Characters reassured it’s okay to be weak or be treated gently
* Outsider POV and others Finding Out (and just focus on the views/opinions of other characters outside the main character/couple)
* All kinds of religious guilt and shame and trying to be a Good Person
* Neurodivergent headcanons/interpretations
* Aspec headcanons/interpretations (including asexual alloromantic, aro/ace, and allosexual aromantic)
* Characters who mean well but are flawed, and miscommunications or some unhealthy dynamics resulting because of that
* Characters dealing with (and maybe learning to work through) trauma. PTSD, suicidal ideation, and general self-hating all welcome!
* Stories about struggling to find connection/belonging/understanding
* Holidays!! Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, Hanukkah - all are great!! (As an Australian my Christmasses are hot, but I'm just as happy to live vicariously through idyllic Northern Hemisphere winter wonderlands~)
I tend to be not much of a fan of:
* Overloads of snark/banter/friendly meanness
* Memey tumblr slang
* Characters insulted for being ‘weak’ or incapable
* BAMF!characters and competence porn (it's usually more interesting IMO if characters are realistically flawed and sometimes fail in character-appropriate ways)
* Misandry/generalised man-hating
* Directionless fluff; if you want to do fluff, maybe add some comedy or smut, or just really try to make the fluff unique to the characters/relationship!
* Unrequested non-canon side pairings (but there are exceptions!)
And uhhh if there is a side female character not involved with the main ship. Please consider making her aro/ace!! (You don't have to though lmao, it's just that I see soooo many people making side female characters queer rather than straight but literally almost never choosing to make them queer in an aro or aro/ace way and that. bugs me.)
If you're writing smut, a random assortment of things I tend to like:
* sub/sub dynamics (i.e. where neither is super confident or in control of the situation)
* youthful fumbling and awkward sex (inc. accidental stimulation)
* sex pollen/aphrodisiacs etc.
* embarrassment (but being reassured by their partner!!)
* coming in clothing, and clothed sex in general
* frottage (inc. thigh fucking, hot dogging etc.)
* characters just. being really Really turned on. The more the better!!!
* in particular, characters being really turned on when they Really Don't Want To Be (internalised homophobia, incest, just weird fetishes, not wanting to ruin friendships...)
* crossdressing/gender play (inc. femboys)
* lingerie/stockings/thigh highs
* sweat and dirtiness (but not bathroom stuff)
Things I tend to not like in smut:
* doms (being in control is Boring :'D)
* being mean (I want the NARRATIVE to be mean, not the characters!!!)(actually that's. a pretty good guide to my likes in general :'D)
And beneath this cut is some request-specific ideas or potential themes to explore! Note that this ended up getting pretty long hahah; sorry, but I'm just a rambler who struggles to cut things down and this has sort of been a busy week sooo 'if I had more time I'd have written a shorter letter' et cetera!!;; (Which is to say: optional details are optional!! This is for inspiration ONLY.)
Final Fantasy X-2
* How Gippal and Baralai became close initially (for this prompt, just fluff is a-okay!! But angst is also good, too~)
* Baralai's relationship with religion/Yevon. How/why did he become a priest? Why did he join the Crimson Squad? How did meeting Gippal change things? What about the Eternal Calm? And how/why did he come to become High Priest?
* How did they first reunite pre-canon? How weird/different did everything feel? But also, how familiar?
* Dealing with Politics(tm) during/post canon. Secret relationship angst, or Fake Dating to Send a Message, or just;; struggling to deal with so many eyes being on them, judging their every move?
* jsut. slightly dirty fucking (maybe out in the desert?) when Gippal's been working on machines and lots of oil stains et cetera!!!!
* I didn't request Worldbuilding solely because I really wanted something focusing on Gippal and Baralai, but rest assured that I enjoy worldbuilding as well so I'd also appreciate any fic that finds a worldbuilding angle on them!!
* For side pairings, I'm happy with Nooj/Paine, and I enjoy both Yuna/Tidus and Yuna/Rikku!
Genealogy of the Holy War
* Oooooh so much ANGST for the Seliph/Julia. Seliph is supposed to be this perfect pure pristine hero but here he is, loving his Actually pure perfect sister so much he wants to bang her!!!! How could he possibly Corrupt Her in that way???? (Julia is madly in love and always has been and does not feel his concerns <3)
* OR maybe Seliph and Julia fell in love before finding out they were brother and sister?? Or even went all the way?? And now things are. bad. in seliph's heart. (Could also be maybe he tries to date someone else but can't stop thinking about it?? Tine, Lana, or even Ares are options for that...)
* BASICALLY: most of the Seliph/Julia tag is straight-up smut so I'd really like to see something a bit more romantic and/or angsty!!
* but if you DO do smut: trying really hard to avoid potentially making a baby (and maybe failing) would be hot :)
* For Seliph/Ares: uwaaa angst is also good hahaha. Ares slowly coming to terms with Seliph not being the villain he's made him up in his head to be? Angsting at the thought of 'betraying' his father's name? Coming to finally that maybe Eldigan would've been okay with this?? (btw I also ship Sigurd/Eldigan [as like, a thing at the academy that comes to a friendly and pre-planned end when Sigurd meets Deirdre] so like. food for thought!!!)
* OR more like post-canon stuff exploring the politics of it all?? The way they can't be together the way they want, but still find some ways to love one another, meeting up rarely and taking their moments when they can? (Infidelity isn’t on my DNW and I’m especially fine with it in this context!! But not necessarily without angst~)
* This is a ship where I think a no-homophobia AU wouldn’t actually solve the primary problems (they both have kingdoms to run!!) but like. I wouldn’t be opposed to heartfelt love confessions and/or royal wedding fluff :)
* also I haven’t read the manga (yet!!!) but this line: ‘Oh, light that guided me. Now, I shall swing this sword for you…’ ohhhhh the LOYALTY KINK… 😍
* Like I said above: Lene/Seliph/Ares. :) (Does Lene dress Seliph up like a femboy dancer and get Ares all hot and bothered?? I can see her teasing them both in different ways, and him being the shining prince she never thought she’d deserve, and her helping Ares open up to Seliph better, and the dynamics are all just so good ahhhhh~)
* In terms of smut: femboy Seliph is always adored. :) (Ares respects Seliph for his swordsmanship, but I’d love if he loves and cares for his softer side as well!!) Or Ares just. Totally overwhelming Seliph physically and taking him out of his head and letting him be Not The Leader for just a little while…!
* ADDITIONALLY: Seliph is my one exception to the 'keep to canonical genders' rule. I like transmasc Seliph, but I am also very interested in transfem (or nb!) Seliph~ (Also, transmasc Ares. Consider it!!!!)
Turning a Sphere Outside In
* One last link for those who still haven’t seen it…
* God just. SO much to do with this!!
* Those ‘games’ they played as teenagers…?? How/when did they stop? Is this around when the female narrator began to seek solace in mathematics?
* The getting married and having a kid and trying to be Normal, all while the feelings still remain… And how does her brother feel about all this, especially given how ‘not that great of a guy’ the husband is?
* How did the affair happen? How did it feel for them both? I imagine that her blocking him out happened after this out of shame at it all, and desperately running away from her feelings. And then, when she reached out to him for the video, how did that go?
* When it comes to post-canon… my only request is that the woman not actually have lost her love for maths :’D It’s a funny gag in video but I’d rather she’s just tossing away her insistence that everything has to follow Specific Rules and her elitist intellectualism and so forth rather than fully embracing the ‘math is stupid, mathematicians are nerds’ mentality lol
* Speaking of which: I would ADORE any kind of specific maths (or topology!) themeing/tie-ins/window dressing. I am not a mathematician myself so anything above the level of the video will be lost on me haha but it would work so perfectly with this fandom!
*And with all the above: what’s up with their parents??? What is their perspective on their kids potentially repeating their same behaviour?! And how did the male narrator find out, while his sister remained entirely oblivious?
Monster Prom
* I have way fewer specific ideas for this fandom; anything in the realm of smut or comedy or smutty comedy or comedic smut or even some sufficiently canon-compliantly slightly off-kilter heartfelt fluff would be very much enjoyed!!
* For Miranda/Dahlia in particular, I have allllllways wanted to see some sort of political marriage (arranged marriage?) plotline as suggested in that one Monster Roadtrip scene; all you need to know is that Bellanda said Miranda could help the war effort by committing to a marriage with Hell’s prince or the rebel commanda Aquino, to which Miranda said that she would only marry for true love! (I actually one wrote up a verrry overly long fic idea ramble about this exact subject but you DO NOT NEED TO read or pay attention to any of this!!!!!!!!! :’) )
* Aside from the characters I nominated, I also really love Calculester (he NARROWLY missed out being one of my chosen four!) so any of the characters could be paired with him as well!!
* For another idea: how does sex ed and/or the Discussing of sexual boundaries etc. work in this very multi-species world? Do Miranda and Zoe need to be reminded that most species need to breathe air? How does consent work when it comes to Oz’s little fear buddies? So many questions to be explored! (This could be great for an in-universe document kinda format if you’re into those!)
* I also love my aro/ace buddy Kale so any kind of cameo or mention of him would be lovely. :) (But only if it works for you!!)
* For side pairings... go wild hahahaha. I'm not wedded to anything <3
Chihayafuru
* I’M GONNA BE REAL: I haven’t read the manga and never fully got around to watching the third season of the anime. :’) But when I saw this fandom nominated it reminded me how much I never stopped loving the Taichi/Chihaya/Arata ship and every time there’s an addition to the tag I just ahhhhhhh
* I love the way these three are so important to one another, even if they can’t always articulate perfectly why! They have such a shared history and have already changed one another all so much, that they can really understand each other on a level they struggle to find with others!
* Like with Taichi, I love how it feels like he takes all the competitiveness he should have with Chihaya as a fellow karuta player and transposes it on to Arata (both because he’s a guy and because he doesn’t like to admit he truly cares about karuta in itself), while all the emotional affection (and romance?) he feels for Arata he transposes fully on to Chihaya. He feels both of those things for both of them, but he tries to compartmentalise it out into more Acceptable versions I think??? But then whenever he sees Arata he’s so sincere and kind (and that fuels Taichi’s guilt which he doesn’t know what to do with and ughhhHHHH)
* but also. Chihaya/Arata is really sweet. :) I love how it’s like a long-distance slow burn romance, where neither are fully ready to take the final step, but just keep longing for one another, treasuring every small moment they can spend together…!
* Karuta theming!!!! And poetry and games and ahhhh if there’s a way to integrate that all into your fic, I’d love it!! :D As an autist with my own very specific obsessions, I love Chihayafuru (and other sports anime ofc) for how openly it adores its own subject matter, and Chihaya in particular’s passion and enthusiasm for karuta is just so lovely and inspiring to me personally <33
And that's all! If you've made it this far: thank you and I am sorry. :') But I've chosen my requested fandoms/characters this year to ensure that no matter what kind of fic I get, I'll simply be happy that people contributed to these tags At All, so rest assured that by matching up with me you've already made me happy; anything else is just a bonus! :D <3
Hey, folks!! Despite being a Fandom Old from ye olde days of Livejournal, this year for the first time ever I will be participating in Yuletide, and so that calls for a letter! :)
First up, I've signed up for a few of the mini challenges: the Family Matter incest challenge, Interactive Fiction for Yuletide, TransTide, and Three Turtle Doves! I also welcome any and all treats, including of other formats such as artwork!
Beneath the first cut I'll put some general insights as to what I like and dislike! Everything is optional, of course, so don't stress too much - I just personally work better when I have a whole smorgasbord of ideas to potentially focus in on, so I like to give the same options for those who want them!
General likes:
* Angst, hurt/comfort, and complications
* Period- or canon-typical homophobia, internalised or otherwise
* Fic that really focuses on what makes the characters/relationship unique or unusual
* Strong emotionally intense relationships that don’t easily fit into standard relationship categories (including ambiguous relationships, pre-slash, open relationships, poly, and loyalty kink!)
* Worldbuilding, and unique or setting-specific relationship structures
* Unusual formats/styles, and/or mimicking canon styles (CYOAs, IF, comics, meta, long-form poetry, and more all welcome!)
* Characters reassured it’s okay to be weak or be treated gently
* Outsider POV and others Finding Out (and just focus on the views/opinions of other characters outside the main character/couple)
* All kinds of religious guilt and shame and trying to be a Good Person
* Neurodivergent headcanons/interpretations
* Aspec headcanons/interpretations (including asexual alloromantic, aro/ace, and allosexual aromantic)
* Characters who mean well but are flawed, and miscommunications or some unhealthy dynamics resulting because of that
* Characters dealing with (and maybe learning to work through) trauma. PTSD, suicidal ideation, and general self-hating all welcome!
* Stories about struggling to find connection/belonging/understanding
* Holidays!! Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, Hanukkah - all are great!! (As an Australian my Christmasses are hot, but I'm just as happy to live vicariously through idyllic Northern Hemisphere winter wonderlands~)
I tend to be not much of a fan of:
* Overloads of snark/banter/friendly meanness
* Memey tumblr slang
* Characters insulted for being ‘weak’ or incapable
* BAMF!characters and competence porn (it's usually more interesting IMO if characters are realistically flawed and sometimes fail in character-appropriate ways)
* Misandry/generalised man-hating
* Directionless fluff; if you want to do fluff, maybe add some comedy or smut, or just really try to make the fluff unique to the characters/relationship!
* Unrequested non-canon side pairings (but there are exceptions!)
And uhhh if there is a side female character not involved with the main ship. Please consider making her aro/ace!! (You don't have to though lmao, it's just that I see soooo many people making side female characters queer rather than straight but literally almost never choosing to make them queer in an aro or aro/ace way and that. bugs me.)
If you're writing smut, a random assortment of things I tend to like:
* sub/sub dynamics (i.e. where neither is super confident or in control of the situation)
* youthful fumbling and awkward sex (inc. accidental stimulation)
* sex pollen/aphrodisiacs etc.
* embarrassment (but being reassured by their partner!!)
* coming in clothing, and clothed sex in general
* frottage (inc. thigh fucking, hot dogging etc.)
* characters just. being really Really turned on. The more the better!!!
* in particular, characters being really turned on when they Really Don't Want To Be (internalised homophobia, incest, just weird fetishes, not wanting to ruin friendships...)
* crossdressing/gender play (inc. femboys)
* lingerie/stockings/thigh highs
* sweat and dirtiness (but not bathroom stuff)
Things I tend to not like in smut:
* doms (being in control is Boring :'D)
* being mean (I want the NARRATIVE to be mean, not the characters!!!)(actually that's. a pretty good guide to my likes in general :'D)
And beneath this cut is some request-specific ideas or potential themes to explore! Note that this ended up getting pretty long hahah; sorry, but I'm just a rambler who struggles to cut things down and this has sort of been a busy week sooo 'if I had more time I'd have written a shorter letter' et cetera!!;; (Which is to say: optional details are optional!! This is for inspiration ONLY.)
Final Fantasy X-2
* How Gippal and Baralai became close initially (for this prompt, just fluff is a-okay!! But angst is also good, too~)
* Baralai's relationship with religion/Yevon. How/why did he become a priest? Why did he join the Crimson Squad? How did meeting Gippal change things? What about the Eternal Calm? And how/why did he come to become High Priest?
* How did they first reunite pre-canon? How weird/different did everything feel? But also, how familiar?
* Dealing with Politics(tm) during/post canon. Secret relationship angst, or Fake Dating to Send a Message, or just;; struggling to deal with so many eyes being on them, judging their every move?
* jsut. slightly dirty fucking (maybe out in the desert?) when Gippal's been working on machines and lots of oil stains et cetera!!!!
* I didn't request Worldbuilding solely because I really wanted something focusing on Gippal and Baralai, but rest assured that I enjoy worldbuilding as well so I'd also appreciate any fic that finds a worldbuilding angle on them!!
* For side pairings, I'm happy with Nooj/Paine, and I enjoy both Yuna/Tidus and Yuna/Rikku!
Genealogy of the Holy War
* Oooooh so much ANGST for the Seliph/Julia. Seliph is supposed to be this perfect pure pristine hero but here he is, loving his Actually pure perfect sister so much he wants to bang her!!!! How could he possibly Corrupt Her in that way???? (Julia is madly in love and always has been and does not feel his concerns <3)
* OR maybe Seliph and Julia fell in love before finding out they were brother and sister?? Or even went all the way?? And now things are. bad. in seliph's heart. (Could also be maybe he tries to date someone else but can't stop thinking about it?? Tine, Lana, or even Ares are options for that...)
* BASICALLY: most of the Seliph/Julia tag is straight-up smut so I'd really like to see something a bit more romantic and/or angsty!!
* but if you DO do smut: trying really hard to avoid potentially making a baby (and maybe failing) would be hot :)
* For Seliph/Ares: uwaaa angst is also good hahaha. Ares slowly coming to terms with Seliph not being the villain he's made him up in his head to be? Angsting at the thought of 'betraying' his father's name? Coming to finally that maybe Eldigan would've been okay with this?? (btw I also ship Sigurd/Eldigan [as like, a thing at the academy that comes to a friendly and pre-planned end when Sigurd meets Deirdre] so like. food for thought!!!)
* OR more like post-canon stuff exploring the politics of it all?? The way they can't be together the way they want, but still find some ways to love one another, meeting up rarely and taking their moments when they can? (Infidelity isn’t on my DNW and I’m especially fine with it in this context!! But not necessarily without angst~)
* This is a ship where I think a no-homophobia AU wouldn’t actually solve the primary problems (they both have kingdoms to run!!) but like. I wouldn’t be opposed to heartfelt love confessions and/or royal wedding fluff :)
* also I haven’t read the manga (yet!!!) but this line: ‘Oh, light that guided me. Now, I shall swing this sword for you…’ ohhhhh the LOYALTY KINK… 😍
* Like I said above: Lene/Seliph/Ares. :) (Does Lene dress Seliph up like a femboy dancer and get Ares all hot and bothered?? I can see her teasing them both in different ways, and him being the shining prince she never thought she’d deserve, and her helping Ares open up to Seliph better, and the dynamics are all just so good ahhhhh~)
* In terms of smut: femboy Seliph is always adored. :) (Ares respects Seliph for his swordsmanship, but I’d love if he loves and cares for his softer side as well!!) Or Ares just. Totally overwhelming Seliph physically and taking him out of his head and letting him be Not The Leader for just a little while…!
* ADDITIONALLY: Seliph is my one exception to the 'keep to canonical genders' rule. I like transmasc Seliph, but I am also very interested in transfem (or nb!) Seliph~ (Also, transmasc Ares. Consider it!!!!)
Turning a Sphere Outside In
* One last link for those who still haven’t seen it…
* God just. SO much to do with this!!
* Those ‘games’ they played as teenagers…?? How/when did they stop? Is this around when the female narrator began to seek solace in mathematics?
* The getting married and having a kid and trying to be Normal, all while the feelings still remain… And how does her brother feel about all this, especially given how ‘not that great of a guy’ the husband is?
* How did the affair happen? How did it feel for them both? I imagine that her blocking him out happened after this out of shame at it all, and desperately running away from her feelings. And then, when she reached out to him for the video, how did that go?
* When it comes to post-canon… my only request is that the woman not actually have lost her love for maths :’D It’s a funny gag in video but I’d rather she’s just tossing away her insistence that everything has to follow Specific Rules and her elitist intellectualism and so forth rather than fully embracing the ‘math is stupid, mathematicians are nerds’ mentality lol
* Speaking of which: I would ADORE any kind of specific maths (or topology!) themeing/tie-ins/window dressing. I am not a mathematician myself so anything above the level of the video will be lost on me haha but it would work so perfectly with this fandom!
*And with all the above: what’s up with their parents??? What is their perspective on their kids potentially repeating their same behaviour?! And how did the male narrator find out, while his sister remained entirely oblivious?
Monster Prom
* I have way fewer specific ideas for this fandom; anything in the realm of smut or comedy or smutty comedy or comedic smut or even some sufficiently canon-compliantly slightly off-kilter heartfelt fluff would be very much enjoyed!!
* For Miranda/Dahlia in particular, I have allllllways wanted to see some sort of political marriage (arranged marriage?) plotline as suggested in that one Monster Roadtrip scene; all you need to know is that Bellanda said Miranda could help the war effort by committing to a marriage with Hell’s prince or the rebel commanda Aquino, to which Miranda said that she would only marry for true love! (I actually one wrote up a verrry overly long fic idea ramble about this exact subject but you DO NOT NEED TO read or pay attention to any of this!!!!!!!!! :’) )
* Aside from the characters I nominated, I also really love Calculester (he NARROWLY missed out being one of my chosen four!) so any of the characters could be paired with him as well!!
* For another idea: how does sex ed and/or the Discussing of sexual boundaries etc. work in this very multi-species world? Do Miranda and Zoe need to be reminded that most species need to breathe air? How does consent work when it comes to Oz’s little fear buddies? So many questions to be explored! (This could be great for an in-universe document kinda format if you’re into those!)
* I also love my aro/ace buddy Kale so any kind of cameo or mention of him would be lovely. :) (But only if it works for you!!)
* For side pairings... go wild hahahaha. I'm not wedded to anything <3
Chihayafuru
* I’M GONNA BE REAL: I haven’t read the manga and never fully got around to watching the third season of the anime. :’) But when I saw this fandom nominated it reminded me how much I never stopped loving the Taichi/Chihaya/Arata ship and every time there’s an addition to the tag I just ahhhhhhh
* I love the way these three are so important to one another, even if they can’t always articulate perfectly why! They have such a shared history and have already changed one another all so much, that they can really understand each other on a level they struggle to find with others!
* Like with Taichi, I love how it feels like he takes all the competitiveness he should have with Chihaya as a fellow karuta player and transposes it on to Arata (both because he’s a guy and because he doesn’t like to admit he truly cares about karuta in itself), while all the emotional affection (and romance?) he feels for Arata he transposes fully on to Chihaya. He feels both of those things for both of them, but he tries to compartmentalise it out into more Acceptable versions I think??? But then whenever he sees Arata he’s so sincere and kind (and that fuels Taichi’s guilt which he doesn’t know what to do with and ughhhHHHH)
* but also. Chihaya/Arata is really sweet. :) I love how it’s like a long-distance slow burn romance, where neither are fully ready to take the final step, but just keep longing for one another, treasuring every small moment they can spend together…!
* Karuta theming!!!! And poetry and games and ahhhh if there’s a way to integrate that all into your fic, I’d love it!! :D As an autist with my own very specific obsessions, I love Chihayafuru (and other sports anime ofc) for how openly it adores its own subject matter, and Chihaya in particular’s passion and enthusiasm for karuta is just so lovely and inspiring to me personally <33
And that's all! If you've made it this far: thank you and I am sorry. :') But I've chosen my requested fandoms/characters this year to ensure that no matter what kind of fic I get, I'll simply be happy that people contributed to these tags At All, so rest assured that by matching up with me you've already made me happy; anything else is just a bonus! :D <3
